(no subject)

If I told you I'd decided to stay on at the Sheraton because of the people, would you laugh at me?

Only two or three of us decided to go. Steve B., the rooms division manager, is going. I didn't get to know him very well, but I would have liked to have more time to do so. He gave the impression of being very intelligent, with the kind of mind that never misses the details, and he's very dexterous as well. His office is filled with tiny carvings and even stuffed birds. I know he didn't really want to leave us, but Innkeeper balked at meeting his salary at the beginning, and when they capitulated, it was too late. He could have changed his mind, he said, but then that opened the door for salary struggles all the way down the line. If you have to threaten to leave to get a raise, leave. It isn't worth the stress.

Tammy, our comptroller, is also leaving us. This saddens me; Tammy is the one person on the job who seems to understand the way I think. The others like me, but don't understand me. Tammy gets me, and is also the only person I know irl who heard me humming October Project and not only knew the name of the group, but knew the lyrics. I'll miss her a lot...

Joe, Carl, Daima, Shannon, Michelle... all are staying. But, oddly, they're not the ones who made up my mind for me.

A Southwest flight attendant did that.

A week or so ago, with the YMCA group still in house, her flight was delayed at the airport. They came in at 3 AM, tired and hungry, and the bar was closed. I handed out milk and cereal, and sent them to their rooms. Ten minutes later, I got a call. Toni, it turns out, has allergies. She couldn't stay in the smoking room she'd been assigned, or she'd have been sick. All the other rooms were taken, so I wound up putting a rollaway cot into the concierge lounge and leaving her with her room key so she could go downstairs in the morning to shower.

The concierge lounge was never intended to be a room. It's huge, cold, echoey, and more than a bit eerie. I wouldn't have enjoyed it a bit. But she took it very cheerfully, and didn't even complain. I went home, she left the next morning, and I didn't think much of it.

Tonight, right about the time I'd decided I was sick of the Sheraton and couldn't wait to see the last of it, at least for the night, her crew came in. She brought a letter to my supervisor, and a thank you note and a box of chocolates for me.

In case that doesn't mean much to you, let me just say that I do far more difficult things for guests on quite a few nights. We all do. And we consider ourselves lucky to get a thank you then. It's our job to serve, and people think nothing of running us ragged and then complaining that there's not more we can do for them. Even the polite ones generally go away and never give us a second thought.

She reminded me of the one thing I love most about the Sheraton. The flight crews come in every week. They know our names, ask after us and our families, stand around and hold conversations, and really appreciate the things we do for them. They're a good lot, for the most part, and Southwest are the best of them. They're more than just friends; we see them so often that we're almost extended family to more than a few of them. On a night when I was beginning to feel that I could very easily start to hate the guests, Toni reminded me that they're not all like that. And she's not atypical of the group. I doubt I'd find that elsewhere. And I can't imagine giving it up lightly.

(no subject)

So, here's the thing.

There's a rift growing between a couple of people on my friends list. Frankly, I'm not at all conflicted about where my loyalties lie; I'm growing more and more irritated with the lack of concern one of them is showing for the other's obvious pain. Promises sidestepped, outright criticism for daring to feel pain, word games and mind games -- and, to boot, I'm really pretty damned tired of seeing someone else's comments in their LJ. I cut the person in question off awhile ago when it became plain they were dishonest and callous, and seeing their comments elicits a response of "god, why am I even bothering to read these lies anymore?"

So I've been considering dropping this person for quite some time. My problem is, the person in question hasn't given me any reason to dislike him. We're not close and never have been, but he was an interesting read. I'm not sure I'm justified in dropping him. (yes, I know, I don't really need justification for dropping someone, and if it wasn't personal I wouldn't think twice, but it is personal. There's no way around that.)

So... what do you lot think? What would you think if you were the person in question, and I dropped you for the above-stated reasons? And if you think it is you, would you even care?

[Edit]

Thanks, everyone. You know what I decided, no doubt -- you all made sense. And, really, I knew what I would hear from you (and what I wanted to hear from you) before I asked the question. He's been dropped. I'm still around, should he wish to discuss this with me, but I doubt that. Like I said, we were never close. And there's no reason he should cut off someone who obviously matters to him just so some woman will keep reading his LJ. There is also, however, no reason why I should keep experiencing aggravation and outright annoyance through reading his LJ and seeing that person's comments.